#VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Mack Gaston

Mack was born in Dalton, Georgia in July 1940. He graduated from high school in 1958 as valedictorian. Mack went on to attend Tuskegee University and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps for two years. He also earned a master’s in business administration from Marymount University. In August 1964, he received an offer to join the Navy.

While serving in the Navy, Mack commanded numerous ships and bases. He was the commander of two destroyers as well as the cruiser USS Josephus Daniels. On land, he was a commander of the Defense Nuclear Agency and was also the first African American commander of Naval Training Center Great Lakes in Illinois. In 1995, he retired from the Navy as a rear admiral having received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Navy Commendation Medal as well as many others.

In retirement, Mack worked as a senior executive at Waste Management, Inc. and Electronic Data Systems. He passed away at his home in Illinois in December 2018.

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Graphic by Joe Misko. Joe is a Graphic Design major with a minor in Business at Central Connecticut State University.

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Ben Szalinski

Ben is a student at the University of Illinois at Springfield studying Political Science and Communication. He is originally from the Chicagoland area and is a writing intern at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.